Radioactive
by EZChase
Summary: Yaoi. AU. Don't like-don't read. His piercing cerulean eyes bore into my own crimson ones. I was out of time. But he was rebellious until the end and the sight was still as amazing as when I had first laid eyes on him. I was still in awe of the restrained beauty that was Seto Kaiba. But every story has a beginning and an end, and this was both our beginning and end. M just in case.
1. Chapter One: Of Amethysts and Sapphires

**AN: **I will be using the Japanese names for most characters. Some characters might be OOC but I will try my best to keep them in character and also fit the story line. 

Chapter One: Of Amethysts and Sapphires

_Dreams, they are the epitome of our creativity. They are the embodiment of our conscience. They are where our conscious and unconscious minds meet to form answers to a problem, outlets for our stress, and memories once forgotten. Is it a surprise that we have whole sciences devoted to discovering and uncovering the mysteries that are dreams? But when you put aside all of the science and technicalities of dreams, what are they really? Are they visions of the future? The past? Are they some higher power guiding us to where we need to be or where we need to go? Can we ever comprehend just how powerful dreams can be? After all, one dream ruined was the start of a world war, and a dream reached was how we discovered America._

Everything had led to this moment.

Our happenstance meeting.

Our rivalry.

Our falling for one another.

Our crimes.

I realized that everything we had done had led to this inexplicable moment in time. A moment I knew I would never forget.

His piercing cerulean eyes bore into my own crimson ones. I had nothing else to say. I was out of time. Out of those precious seconds that would have helped buy his freedom. I didn't dare say a word for fear of being caught, but I did continue gazing at the fierce sight in front of me.

It didn't matter that it wouldn't help him to be defiant now. He was rebellious until the end and the sight was still as amazing as when I had first laid eyes upon him. I was still in awe of the beauty that was Seto Kaiba.

His strength. His fierce protectiveness. His steadfast loyalty. His arrogant sarcasm. Those are the qualities I fell for. That is the man that I loved; that I was sure loved me just as desperately, if not more. I couldn't tear my gaze away from him. We'd been through everything together, and I did not wish to stop that now.

I knew he saw me in the crowd. I knew that I was the one he had decided to share his life with, however brief a life that may have been. I knew that this beautiful, intense, precious man was who I was meant to be with. My soul mate.

A man hopped onto the platform. "Seto Kaiba, you stand charged of mutiny and sedition." The man's bald head gleamed in the sunlight and I cringed at his words. There was only one punishment for both crimes in these lands. "You are hereby sentenced to death."

Seto stared the man down, daring him to give the order that would end his life. I knew that it was useless and wrong for me to watch, to even be near this place, but I couldn't leave. I wouldn't let him go through this alone.

"Any last words?" The man glared at Kaiba, and I, in turn, glared at the man. Now he was just taunting him. "Say your last words now, or die with them on your tongue."

Seto's gaze found mine again. His brown hair caught in the wind making him look, for the entire world, like the avenging angel he was. I stared at him with love. He broke our eye contact to bare his teeth at the man.

He had said all he'd needed to in those last few moments of our locked gazes. He loved me.

"No? Alright then, you are sentenced to hang by the neck until dead," At this the bald man placed a noose around my beloved's neck. The same neck I'd kissed just hours prior. Had all of this only happened in those short hours of peace?

"Do it." The man commanded the executioner.

Seto's eyes were no longer on the man, but back on me. I mouthed the only words I was capable of registering. "I love you." Kaiba gave me a slight nod, undetectable to anyone not looking for it. His icy gaze softened and for a moment, it was just us. Just our eyes holding a silent conversation of words that had never had a chance to be uttered, and probably never would.

Within the next second there was a creaking sound of rusted gears. Then the sound of cracking bones filled the air. After that, darkness was all I knew. 

I sat bolt upright, nocking my head against something hard. I groaned and rubbed my forehead, glaring at whatever it was that I had hit. Large, concerned, violet eyes gazed down at me from a childlike boyish face. As I glared up at the boy, an impish smile graced rose colored audacious lips.

"Sorry Yami," my younger brother stated, nothing close to remorse coloring his tone.

"Yeah, get back to me when you can say it in a convincing tone," I state holding the heel of my palm against my bruising forehead. "Did you even feel that?"

"Nope," Yugi popped the 'p' and punctuated it with a quick shake of his head. He was sixteen yet his mannerisms and appearance begged to differ.

"Didn't think so. You're so hard headed I could take a bat to your skull and you wouldn't feel a thing," I smirked at him and he frowned. His lips curved downward with indignant displeasure.

"Hey! That's mean!" He stated, putting a hand on his hip. I had to resist the urge to ruffle his tri-colored hair.

He was so adorable when he was upset. Most of the time I had to remind myself that he wasn't the little kid I had raised, but a teenager that was almost an adult. I guess I felt old though, because I had raised him. I'd given up my childhood to make sure my brother had one, not that I was complaining. Yugi was the most precious gift I could ever have. But at nineteen, I felt like I had already lived a full life in raising him.

I kicked my legs over the side of my cot, and stood stretching. Looking back at him, I smirked evilly before saying "You know, you're too cute for your own good!" I easily dodged the pillow that had made my face its target.

Yugi followed me as I made my way down the short hallway, and into the cramped kitchen. I looked in the fridge, grabbing the jug of orange juice I saw, and set it on the bar, just as Yugi sat on his stool on the opposite side of the bar. I leant my hip against the small stove (if you could call it that) and crossed my arms.

"What do you want for breakfast little one?" He hated that term of endearment, yet he would always be my little one. My light.

Frowning he said "Pancakes."

"We had pancakes yesterday."

"So?"

"So wouldn't you like something new for a change?"

"No."

"I think it's time to try something different."

"And I think it's always time for pancakes!" Yugi exclaimed hopping off his stool with the force of his excitement. I rolled my eyes at his antics. I never understood my brother's fascination with my pancakes, but since the moment I'd made them, he'd fallen in love with the golden batter.

"Whatever. What kind do you want today?" I made several different types of pancakes, walnut, blueberry, chocolate. Yugis' favorite was butterscotch, but it was so hard to come by, so I only made it for him on special occasions.

"I think blueberry today," he stated, hope filling his large eyes. Damn, he was using that face. The one I could never say no to.

"Alright, go get ready for school, and they'll be done when you're finished."

Yugi raced off to get everything together. I shook my head, a grin spreading across my lips. Yugi was definitely a handful. A ball of pure joy and enthusiasm, excited over the littlest of things. I had fought long and hard to keep him that way. My grin faded as I thought about how we had gotten here, to this tiny house on the outskirts of the upper west side of Domino city.

I'd been three when my parents had brought Yugi home from the hospital. My mother had sat me on her lap and slowly rested the sleeping babe in mine. I had held him how she'd showed me, his head raised on my arm (it was too heavy for him to lift on his own.) I had looked up at her as she began to talk to me in a low murmur.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Her voice was a melodic soprano. I had frowned in confusion.

"He's all wrinkly. How is that beautiful?" She had laughed at my question, but soon stopped as the baby twitched in my arms; roused by the sound of his mother's voice.

Honestly, how had she thought this thing in my arms was even remotely cute? It had a shock of tri-colored hair on the top of his head and his skin was wrinkled like all newly born babes are. If anything he had looked like an alien. Then his eyes had opened, and for the first time I understood.

In his eyes I could see wonder and curiosity. They were the most unique eye's I'd ever seen. Violet with flecks of sapphire stared up at me with innocence and tranquility. I instantly loved him. I knew from that moment on that I'd do anything for my baby brother. I'd give up everything for his happiness. He became my world, and my world's name was Yugi.

A year after that day my parents were coming home from the local convenience store when a drunk driver ran them off the road and into a nearby lamppost. Our mother survived being in the passenger seat, but our father had been killed instantly. The air bag had worked a little too well and had snapped his neck.

After the accident, our mother fell under a deep depression. She began taking up bad habits like smoking and drinking. Our family was never the same. Three years after that, the night before my seventh birthday, my mother went out to buy my birthday cake. She didn't come home that night, but I waited up for her way into the morning.

Yugi had long sense learned to walk and could speak full sentences, so when he woke, he came running out of the bedroom we shared, shirking his glee for my new age. He found me sitting on the stone steps of our front porch, looking down the driveway. I took care of Yugi that day, not knowing it was the first of many. By the time night came again, I knew with certainty what had happened. My mother had either left us or was dead in a ditch somewhere. Either way she had abandoned us.

From then on I knew it was my job to take care of my innocent baby brother. I took jobs where I could, but I'd only been seven and didn't have much by the way of money. For a few weeks we lived in the house like normal. Yugi still believed mom was out buying my cake; his childish innocence had not comprehended our misfortune. In his mind we were having fun and playing games until mom came home.

When the repossessing people arrived to find us living in the house, they had called child services, but I knew if they put us in a home, we'd eventually be separated. So we took to the streets. We lived on the streets for about two years; I really don't recall the exact amount of time. Out on the streets, it's a constant fight for survival, and things as trivial as time was not something I had paid close attention to. The only thing on my mind then was to have a safe and warm place to sleep at night and to have food in Yugi's stomach.

It was then that the nuclear war with the other countries started. The streets were chaos during the day and it was even worse at night. The war lasted for a while, I'm not sure how long, but when it was over, the world was a different place.

Everything was technologically enhanced and new. And the cities had changed and had become their own governing countries because half the human population had died during the war, whether by fighting or just casualties, I'm not completely sure. Back then all I'd really needed to know was how to provide for Yugi.

I'd been a year late in enrolling Yugi into kindergarten (I'd needed to save up the money) but I finally had enough for him to go to school. I'd never really thought about school for myself, I barely had a second grade education, but I had common sense and street smarts, and really, that's all I'd needed to supply Yugi with the necessities.

"-dream?" Yugi's voice broke me out of my memories and I realized that I was burning one of the pancakes. I grabbed the spatula and put it onto a plate before turning to my brother to give him my full attention.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"When I woke you up. Were you having a bad dream?" Yugi sat on the stool in his blue school uniform, looking like an angel.

"I can't remember," I said honestly, turning back to the stove. I'd nearly forgotten the dream, but as I thought about it, it fluttered in the back of my mind; hazy images appeared but they were fading fast.

I shrugged and put the last pancake on Yugi's plate. If it was important, it would come to me eventually. "Eat up kiddo, you're running late."

"Aren't you having some?" Yugi looked at me with his wide eyes and I rolled my eyes.

I snatched a piece of his and walked down the hallway as he shouted "That's not what I meant!"

I snickered and went to change from my pajama bottoms, into a pair of faded jeans and a threadbare, red, long-sleeved shirt. I paired the ensemble with a studded leather cuff bracelet, and studded biker boots with a series of studded belts slung around my hips: my normal outfit. When I went back into the kitchen Yugi was rinsing his plate in the small sink.

"Ready?"

"Yep!"

"Alright, grab the helmet and I'll lockup."

"Okay!"

We were outside in no time, me with the keys to my motorcycle and Yugi with the only helmet I had. I never let him ride unless he had one on. I got on the bike and started it as Yugi swung on behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist for balance. I took off down the road to Domino High, to drop Yugi off. When we were at the front gates I stopped and let him off. He handed me my helmet and I smiled at him reassuringly. It was his first day as a freshman.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," I told him ruffling his hair.

I think it was in our genes to have gravity defying spiky hair. Yugis' hair was black with violet tips, and blonde bangs. My brother was 5"3 but with his hair he looked about 5"5. My hair was the same way, only I had red tips and blonde streaks going through the black. I was normally 5"6 but my hair style also made me look taller.

Most people thought we were twins upon first glance and we were often mistaken for one another, but where Yugi was all innocent and carefree, I came off cold and distant.

My eyes, to go with my natural tri-colored hair, were crimson red and almond shaped. My skin was naturally tanner than Yugi's as well. I took after our Egyptian father with my features. Yugi took after our Asian mother in the coloring department.

"I'll see you later Yami," Yugi said giving me a nervous hug. I smiled.

"I might run late picking you up. I have a job interview in the afternoon," I frowned not wanting to make him stress over it.

"Another job? Don't you have two already?" Yugi asked me. I smiled.

"Someone has to pay the bills around here," I joked. Yugi smiled and hugged me again.

"Love you," he said then ran off and disappeared into the building. My smile grew.

This second job wasn't really for the bills. Yugi had said a while ago that he needed a few new clothes, and with things as tight as they were, I needed another job to pay for his school supplies and cloths. Also, I thought he would enjoy having some extra spending money for outings with his friends. And he deserved it all to. He was the best kid I knew, and if it was up to me I would give him everything he asked for. Also I needed a bit more money for his college fund, so it was really a win-win situation.

I pulled away from the curb, smile still on my face as I headed to my first job of the day. 

**AN:** So this is my second FF...I hope you like it! The main pairings include: YamiXKaiba, Yami BakuraXMarik, RyouXMalik, YugiXAnzu. I don't know the pairing names...:) Message me if you have suggestions on how to change it to be more in character or pairing names. This was just and Idea I had and I just went with it...so yeah. LOL. If you don't have anything constructive to say then please don't message me. Because I can take you disagreeing with me and then pointing out mistakes and ways to fix them. But an "I hate this" or "This sucks" is in no way helpful to me.


	2. Chapter Two: Of Break-ins and Blue Eyes

Chapter Two: Of Break-ins and Blue Eyes

_When you think of fear, what comes to mind? Most would say some phobia or another. That fear is irrational and can't be controlled. The fear of spiders. The fear of snakes. The fear of heights. But really, what is it? Have you ever really encountered it? Have you ever feared for the life of a loved one? Feared for your own life? What is it like to feel real, heart stopping, terrifying, fear? What does it feel like? Does your blood run cold and your heart speed up? Do you start to sweat and does your breath quicken? Do you feel a pit of trepidation open in your stomach or does your mind stop thinking, choosing instead to center on that one thing causing so many emotions to run rampant? If we have never truly felt it, then how is it that we recognize it when we are faced with that emotion? How is it that we know how to describe it? We say the word and our imagination does the rest, but can we ever truly understand it?_

"What do you mean I'm fired?" I looked at my boss with complete shock. How had my morning spiraled so completely out of control?

"I mean you're fired Mr. Mutou," My, now former, boss said to me slowly, as if I were a child. My eyes narrowed at the implication.

"On what grounds?" If I was going to be fired, I wanted to know why.

"Well, you see Mr. Mutou, when someone who wants the job comes along with a high school diploma or college degree, they become more qualified for it than someone of your, _education_," the man said with icy venom, stressing the last word like it was a curse.

His insinuation that I was an incompetent fool had me fisting my hand in the fabric of the chair, trying to keep myself for punching the wizened old man.

"So you're saying that you're firing me because someone had a piece of paper as proof that they are smart?" I was beyond irritated.

All my life people had looked down on me because I barley had a second grade education in the government's eyes, but I was smarter than half the idiots that came out of the universities. At age eight I had taught myself how to read a thousand paged novel and mechanic manuals. By the time I was nine I could write and easily understand a three hundred paged essay on economics and politics. I wouldn't consider myself a genius, by no means, but I was pretty smart, and I knew it.

"Very good Mr. Mutou," the man across from me sneered in a patronizing tone. "You understand it then."

I grimaced at him. I hated people who thought they were better than me just because they had a signed piece of flimsy paper that said they were smarter. "You don't understand how much I need this job." I hated begging even more than I hated those college graduate dolts, but I could live with a bruised pride and little to no dignity. I couldn't live without my precious Yugi. My aibou. My other half.

"You know," my ex-boss sneered. "I hate people like you."

"_What_?" I hiss, incredulous. Did this guy actually have the audacity to say that to me? I mean, I knew when I worked for him that he was a hard man to get along with, but he seriously just crossed a line.

"You people," he said with contempt. "You make me sick. You and your kind; you're all a bunch of lazy bums. You couldn't bring yourself to get off your ass to go to school, so you beg those of us who have jobs because we got an education to give _you_ jobs or money, all because you were to indolent to go to school."

My hand balled into a fist at his apathetic words. As if I wasn't a diligent worker. As if I had a choice to drop out of school. As if I was just another dropout and loser.

I was so angry that I could barely keep myself from lashing out. I used all my willpower to keep myself in my seat and school my face into an expressionless mask. It wasn't an easy thing to do when someone was degrading everything I'd done to keep Yugi in school. To keep my hikari safe. I would have no one say that I'd been lazy while trying to juggle a job, bills, and raising a child when I'd only been a child myself.

"You know nothing about me," I said through clenched teeth, as I grabbed my helmet from the floor.

"Oh I know your kind. You think the world owes you for all your _hardships_. You think everyone should do for you because you've had a _rough life_. You're pathetic, you're…" His voice trailed off as he met my murderous, glacial glare.

"I hope you know how lucky you are. If I didn't have half the restraint I do, you'd be dead right now. I could kill you thirteen different ways with your watch," I slowly started out the door, the man behind me too stunned to say anything, but then I turned with an evil, malevolent, smirk. "You know nothing about me."

Once I was in the alley behind the used cars building, I could no longer control my anger. My clenched fist found itself smashing hard against the brick of the building before I had time to contain my emotions. I let out a soft groan as pain surged up my arm. I shouldn't have done that, but damn did it feel good to hit something! I look at my knuckles, checking the damage I'd done. The skin on my middle knuckle had split and my hand was red and slightly swollen. I was thankful that I didn't have any broken bones, but it still hurt like hell when I clenched my fist.

I let out a sigh and turned to where I'd parked my motorcycle. I swung my leg over it and started up the engine. If I left now, I would be able to go home and change and still be able to make it to the restaurant in time for my second job. I pulled out on a side street and headed home. At least I was rid of that cranky old man of a boss. I didn't need to deal with that kind of person in the morning anyway.

As I pulled into the tiny driveway, I was shocked to see that my front door was slightly ajar. Dread pooled into my stomach as I turned off the bike and jumped off. Living on the streets had taught me to always be prepared for the worst. So as I approached the door, I pulled out my trusty stiletto from my jeans pocket. With the knife in my hand I entered my house and saw what had happened. The door looked fine, so the lock must've been picked.

It appeared that I had been robbed because the house was completely ransacked. Furniture had been overturned, lamps busted, and the television was missing. I slowly walked down the hallway careful to hide the blade along the inside of my forearm, just in case the burglars were still in the house. I entered Yugis' room first.

Everything was wrecked. His mattress lay in shambles and his desk had been broken. When I went into his closet and opened the false white wall, I was relieved to see that my brothers' most prized possessions, his video games, were as they were when I'd left that morning.

Next I made it into my room, praying to every god I could think of, that they hadn't found the safe. I really didn't care about my stuff. I barely had much to call my own in the first place, but what sat in that safe was almost as precious to me as my brother.

I put my knife away as I walked up to one of the many paintings in my room. If anyone was still in the building, they would have jumped me by now. It wasn't a very big house.

I had some talent when it came to art. I loved to paint and write music, and any variation in-between. Sometimes I sold my paintings and sketches for money if things were getting bad, but mostly I just stashed my art in my room. One of my most favorite paintings that I'd done was my interpretation of what Hell was like. It looked like an average scene of Domino city at first glance. People crowded the streets, beggars and the homeless trying to gain the attention of the passersby. But when you looked closely, everyone either had red or black eyes, and the shadows cast by the setting sun, took on the form of twisted demons. Fire raged across buildings in the background and people had hung dead animals from their windows. That's how it had looked to me growing up on the streets.

But the painting was just a façade for what lay hidden beneath it. I slowly lifted the painting and could see the steel safe I'd placed in the wall. I punched in the combination, my favorite chapter and verse from a book. When I opened the safe I was so relieved the money was still there, I dropped to my knees. So, this was just a rookie snatch-n-grab. The thieves had been amateurs.

I counted the money to make sure it was all there. It was almost a million dollars in my life's savings for Yugi's college tuition. It was all there, and so was the little black book I recorded everything in.

As I shut the safe and returned the painting, I pulled out my cellphone and called in sick for my job as a waiter for the high end restaurant across town. I needed time to clean up before I brought Yugi home. I refused to let him see this. It'd happed only twice before now, and each time I covered it up from Yugi. I didn't want him to ever feel helpless. Never. Plus it also helped when I tracked the people down, because then Yugi couldn't be blamed for knowing what I did to those people. Not that anyone ever caught me, but in that line of work, the first rule was to always expect to get caught. Nothing stayed hidden for forever.

As I cleaned up the house, I kept a steady eye on the clock, to make sure I had time to get to my interview. After losing one of my jobs, I needed this new one. I was trying to get a job at this old game shop that was run by a guy who looked like he could be a fossil. He was a nice elderly man, and if I got the job, he'd give me a discount on the video games which would thrill Yugi to no end.

When I finally finished the house, I had thirty minutes to spare, so I took a shower and bandaged my hand. I pulled on a grey t-shirt with an Alternative Rock band logo on it and over the t-shirt I put on a black utility shirt with the Iron Fist logo embroidered above one breast pocket and Gun metal grey pyramid studs above the other pocket. Then I pulled on black slim fitting denim trousers, with chunky buckles and straps above my left knee and across my right shin and two detachable bondage straps hanging from the back. My only accessory was the silver dog tags that belonged to our father from his time in the military. I never took them off.

I was trying to go for what someone who ran a game store would want an employee to look like. I looked slightly punk in appearance yet professional, young but not too young, cool but not scary or over- the-top. It was a bonus that this was a very comfortable outfit for me and my favorite to pull off. I pulled on my biker boots that had belts strapped every which way on them, and grabbed my wallet from my leather jacket. I locked the front door by the new lock I'd just installed and then jumped back on my motorcycle to head to the interview. I really hoped that I would get hired, because I didn't want to have to resort to…other means of getting money.

As I pulled in front of the Kame Game Shop, I cut the engine and, steeling my nerves, slowly walked up to the store entrance of the building. As I walked in, I could hear someone rummaging around in the back, so I hit the bell on the counter to alert the man of my presence.

"Hello? Sugoroku-_sama_?" I queried; he hadn't told me his last name over the phone, which was weird but I'd needed the job. Just then there was a loud crash. I ran into the storage room to find the old man lying on the floor, fallen boxes spread around him. "Are you okay?" I bent to help pull him up, and realized that he was a lot shorter than me, maybe around Yugi's height. The man also had Yugis' wide violet eyes.

"Thank you, young man," Sugoroku said in a gruff voice. "Are you the person I talked to on the phone?"

"Yes. My name is Mutou Yami," I said bowing in respect to the elderly man.

"Of course, well Yami-_kun_ I might as well put you to work. These old bones are weary," Sugoroku said to me patting my shoulder. I frowned in confusion.

"What about the interview, Sugoroku-_sama_?" I asked.

"Yami-_kun_, have you ever met a young person nowadays who helps old men up and asks if they are okay?" Sugoroku asked me smiling lightly.

"I can't say that I have," I said, but really I'm never around young people. Yugi is the only younger person that I spend time with, and he would be in serious trouble if he didn't help someone up that had fallen. I'd taught him better than that.

"I didn't think so." The old man said in a kindly voice. "So, I was thinking you could start organizing the storage shelves and then maybe reorganize the games?"

"Does this mean I have the job?" I asked refusing to get my hopes up.

"As long as you can handle getting dirty, the place needs a good cleaning," Sugoroku said with a smile. With his spiky, gravity-defying grey hair, wide, kind, violet eyes, and short stature, I could easily see Yugi in this man. I guess the hair thing wasn't just limited to my family, nor was the eye colors.

"Don't worry Sugoroku-_sama_, I won't let you down," I said returning his smile. It wouldn't be bad to have a job that reminded me of my brother. Not bad at all.

As I started organizing dusty old boxes, I faintly registered that the old man had still not told me his last name. But I guess when your stores' name literally meant Turtle Game Shop; you had to have a few loose marbles rolling around.

Sugoroku had let me leave early after he ran out of things for me to do. I guess he wasn't used to employees working hard, because I'd gotten all the boxes in storage organized and all the games stocked on the shelves in less than two hours. I'd also cleaned the entire store from top to bottom in less than an hour. After that he'd looked at me with a proud gleam in his eye stating "If you keep this up Yami-kun, I might not have much work to give you."

It had been a long time since someone other than Yugi had given me praise. I guess I always thought everyone looked down on me like I was dirt under their shoes. I never expected someone that looked like he could be my great-grandfather to actually like me, let alone commend me for doing a job well done.

With the free time Sugoroku had given me, I decided that I would make Yugi his favorite pancakes for dinner, just in case his first day hadn't been that great. When I got home, everything was the same, I was glad to see that we hadn't had another break-in, so I relaxed and began making the batter. I putt a few butterscotch chips into the batter and mixed it up, as I turned the heat on the stove top up. As I made the cakes, I thought about what I'd seen when I'd come home.

_Why would someone, who could pick a lock, leave my door open? Most run of the mill burglars didn't have the patience or skill to pick locks. So then why, if it wasn't just a snatch-n-grab, would the thief have left the safe untouched? Why would they have trashed my house, stole one television, and then take off leaving the door open for who knows what? Who would-?_

The thought came to me as soon as I began asking myself the question. I had a very good feeling on who would do this, and if my assumption was right, then I was about to beat the crap out of him.

I glanced at the clock, I didn't have time to make it down to the lower west side before I had to pick up Yugi, but I would go tomorrow. Then I could kill two birds with one stone, look for a job and beat up someone who should be erased from the earth in my opinion.

When I finished the pancakes, I put them in the oven to keep warm until Yugi and I got back. Then I grabbed my coat and locked up the house before setting out again. The best thing about the Kame Game Shop was that it was only a block away from Yugi's school, so when Yugi got out of school he could come to the shop and wait for me until I got off work.

As I approached the front steps, I had a gentle smile on my face from thinking about Yugi. I had arrived early; so I got off my bike and leant against it, waiting for Yugi to get out of school. As I did this, a white limo pulled up to the school and just sat at the curb. _Why is there a limo at a high school? It isn't even prom yet._

Just then, a boy walked out of the doors, a cell phone held tightly against his ear. As he approached the limo I could make out light brown hair that fell messily across his face as if he'd been running his hand through it for a while now. The boy began undoing the high collar of his uniform as if it had become a restriction around his slender neck. His voice drifted over to me then, and I cringed at the way he was yelling into his phone.

"I don't care what you have to do! Fix it and-_don't_ tell me I have to come _all_ the way down there-?! _Just_ hit the override button-I'm picking my _brother_ up-! Well just give me a few minutes! Why do I hire incompetent employees?!" He seemed to be asking the last part of no one in particular as he slammed his phone shut and slid his hand warily down his face.

He let out a loud sigh before he noticed that there were other people outside and not just himself. When he looked over at me, my heart stopped. My gaze was met with the most pure blue eyes I'd ever seen. They were bright in color, yet dark with the ferocity of the boy's emotions.

I retract my earlier statement, he was a man. Plain and simple. I'd seen that haunted look in my own eyes enough to know that whatever secrets this guy held were not for the faint of heart.

I realized that we were still staring at each other, at the same moment the man did. He gave me a sharp nod, and then slid into his limo as it peeled away from the curb. I was shocked into silence. Those eyes, I'd seen them before. _But where?_ For a moment it seemed as if my brain would supply me with an answer, but then I heard Yugi call my name and I was broken out of the trancelike state I'd been in.

"Yami!" Yugi shouted as he ran up to me. I shook my head to rid myself of the fog-like dream state and looked down at my brother.

My eyes narrowed at the scrape on his cheek and the busted lip. He had a bruise right under his eye and his uniform was scuffed and dirty. Despite the fact that it looked like my brother had been beaten up, he smiled a huge grin that lit the entire place up as he looked at me.

"Yugi," I said in a tight voice. "Who did this to you?"

"Forget about that Yami, I just wanted you to meet my friend," Yugi said, his smile becoming bigger if that was possible.

"Who's you're friend?" I asked. If he didn't want to talk about it now, I would drop it, but we _would_ talk about it at home.

I glanced up as a girl began approaching us. Yugi waved her over to us so I assumed this was the friend he was talking about. She was pretty. Short brown hair, gentle blue eyes, a dancers' grace, she was a beauty to behold. If I was a normal, rude guy, I would have given my brother a high five at scoring points with her, but since I'm not, I just winked at Yugi who blushed and looked away.

"Hello, I'm Mazaki Anzu, you must be Yugi-_kuns'_ brother," she bowed and I smiled at her politeness.

"Yes, I'm Mutou Yami," I said returning her bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you Anzu-_chan_."

At this Anzu blushed a bright red. I raised an eye brow and looked at Yugi who shrugged.

"Anzu-_chan_ and I were wondering if we could go to the game store down the road." Yugi asked me. I smiled as my earlier assumption that he'd love the store was correct.

"Yeah, go ahead. Oh and tell Sugoroku-_sama_ that I'll be in early tomorrow," I said to Yugi throwing my leg over my bike.

"Yami, you got a job there?" Yugi said his eyes becoming wider.

"Yeah I did," I said ruffling his hair. "Have fun kiddo." Then I turned to Anzu who was still bright red. "Have him home at a decent hour Anzu-_chan_." I said in a teasing manner, winking at her. If it was possible, her face became an even darker shade of scarlet, and Yugi frowned at me. I laughed as I pulled away from the curb and went home.

**AN:** Anyone want to guess who the man on the phone was? Virtual cookie for whoever messages first! :p So guys, tell me how much you like Mr. Yami by Rating and Messaging!


	3. Chapter Three: Of Thieves and Pharaohs

Chapter Three: Of Thieves and Pharaohs

_Companionship is what m__ost people look for in their lives. Whether looking for a lover or an ordinary friend, people are drawn to relationships in every sense of the word because humans cannot function as solitary creatures. We are too inquisitive and investigative to be able to live out our lives alone. We crave adventures and to make an impact on life but what we are in most dire need of, is companionship. Without it we have no reason to keep fighting. We have no reason to keep living. So why then, do we have hermits and shut-ins who deliberately choose to close themselves off from other people and the world? Do they truly wish to be alone? Or is it that they wish to be with someone they can be completely themselves with? Why is it that when it comes down to it, we choose to hide ourselves from the very people we wish we could show a side no one else has ever seen in us? Why is it that when things get tough and we feel like no one understands, we end up sitting in a crowd anyway. We end up showing signs that we want someone to notice so they can help us, even when we tell ourselves that we don't want help. We humans need each other as much as the air we breathe._

Boys stood in small groups on both sides of the streets. They wore distinctive clothes and tattoos which pegged them as members belonging to the local gangs. I glared as I drove past the thugs who glanced at me. They pulled out switchblades and various other handheld weapons and stared me down as I passed by. I grimaced at them. It wasn't like I hated them; they were the only family some street kids had. But I didn't pity them either. After all, if it wasn't for Yugi, I'd be in one of those gangs still.

I finally parked my motorcycle in front of a small, rundown hotel. It was a nice change from the usual rat infested shacks the gang I was looking for usually lived in, but then, it had to have something wrong with it otherwise it would still be in use. I scowled at the gang members who stood around the door. They nodded at me but didn't move to let me through the door they were blocking.

I lifted the sleeve of my shirt, exposing the scarred flesh on the underside of my forearm. The symbol that had been burned into my skin was in the shape of a _Wadjet_, the Eye of Horus. Once the members of the gang saw the mark on my arm they paled and shrank back, letting me through.

"No one touches my bike," I said in a menacing tone as I squared my shoulders and straightened my stance.

I made eye contact with each of the goons and stared them down to make sure they understood I wasn't someone to be trifled with. I controlled the look in my eyes so that my gaze came across as hard and cold; I relaxed some of my muscles so that my posture looked calm yet ready for an attack. My lips were drawn in a cross between a smirk and a sneer. (A look I pulled off very well believe it or not.) I looked like a true gangster, unlike these docile wannabes. The one thing these thugs respected was rude confidence, and I had that in the bag from years of having to practice the look. I tilted my head slightly so that some of my blonde bangs fell into my eyes, giving me the appearance of a young, yet slightly crazy, evil overload.

The most courageous of the group nodded at my comment and swallowed hard. I turned my sneer/smirk on him as I passed him and he took a slight step back in fear. That made me laugh a little. I hadn't had to scare someone with my gangster/crazy ruler look in a while and I'd forgotten how fun it could be. Especially when these guys who thought they were so big and tough, turned into scared little bunnies when I walked by.

I strode in, my hips swaying in an arrogant swagger, the dim lights barely shining the way to the stairs. As I walked through, more gang members surrounded me on either side. They palmed weapons, antsy as I made my way silently up to the second floor where I knew my target to be. As I passed the thugs, they all whispered behind their hands when they noticed the mark on my arm that I had yet to cover up.

I walked into the cleanest looking room; the person I sought came into view. His platinum blonde hair flopped to one side as he glanced up from his book, and the hold I'd had on my emotions suddenly gave way.

"Thief!" I shouted his nickname in my deep voice. He turned narrowed, brown eyes on me and I lost all my composure.

I grabbed the front of his white t-shirt, hauling him out of his seat, and slammed him against the wall. The goons that had been in the room made a move to stop me, but with a wave of their masters pale hand they stood down and left the room.

"Never expected to see you here again Pharaoh," he said in his silky smooth voice. I slammed him hard against the wall again.

"Never call me that again!" I shouted in his face. He grinned at me.

"Why are you here _Pharaoh_?" I grimaced at his intentional use of the nickname I hated.

"Why did you break into my house?" I countered.

"What?" His shocked look would have fooled me if I hadn't fallen for it before.

"Don't play with me Bakura! I'm in no mood for your games!" I slammed him against the wall again. This time he let out a low moan. I was sure it had nothing to do with pain.

"That's a damn _shame_," he said eyeing me with lust filled chocolate orbs. "I recall a time when that was all you were in the mood for."

"Stop messing around Bakura! Answer me!" I was thoroughly disgusted by the way he pressed himself closer to my body.

"I don't know what you are talking about," he whispered close to my ear. I grimaced again.

"You could have at least made sure Yugi wouldn't have witnessed it. He could have come home from school and your goons could have hurt him." I stated. Bakura was well aware of my devotion to my brother. Bakura's eyes narrowed.

"You know I would let no harm befall him, _Pharaoh_. And I really have no idea what you are talking about," he said deadly serious for once. I let out a menacing growl.

"Do not _lie_ to me Thief!" I drew my fist back to punch him when someone else caught my arm.

"Enough!" I turned around and stood shocked by light purple eyes. "That is enough my Pharaoh."

"Marik," I said between clenched teeth. "How nice of you to join us."

"Indeed, it is a nice day for you to have come," Marik said slowly releasing my hand. I glared at him before returning to Bakura.

"Just tell me _why_ you did it," I said letting go of him. Even though I was not holding him there, his body was still pressed uncomfortably close to mine.

"Honestly Pharaoh, I did not break-in," Bakura stated. I turned to Marik who'd just cleared his throat.

"I am very sorry my Pharaoh but-" Marik was cut off by a gasped breath. All three of us turned to the doorway to see two young faces glancing at us with awe. I frowned.

"Pharaoh!" Both boys shouted as they ran at me. I barely had time to react before I was being tackled by two teenaged boys.

"You said you'd come back and you have!"

"Where's' Yugi?"

I hugged both boys back with reluctance. After all, it wasn't their fault they had brothers who were evil and a grade A pain in the ass. I put on a smile as they released me so I could get a good look at them. They, like Yugi, could have been carbon copies of their older brothers if you didn't know what to look for. Luckily Ryo had wide innocent amber eyes, unlike his older brother, and a slight British lilt from his days living with his mother in England. Malik was a lot tougher to distinguish from Marik, but Malik had a scar above his lip from a run in with another gang, he also had a penchant for wearing skintight clothing, a sentiment his brother did not share in the least.

"Ryo, Malik, how long has it been?" I asked the boys. They were around Yugi's age and acted just like him so they appeared years younger than they actually were.

"Too long!" Ryo exclaimed hugging me again. I hugged him back and turned to Malik. He stood waiting patiently until I was done reuniting with Ryo before he too hugged me again.

"How have you and Yugi been all this time Pharaoh?" Malik asked me. Oh the innocence of that question. My gaze landed on Bakura as I answered "Fine."

Ryo laid a gentle hand on Malik's shoulder and glanced at his older brother who was smirking like he'd just placed a killing blow. "Let's go Malik, they have business to discuss."

"See you soon," Malik promised as the two teens rushed off. I turned back to their brothers.

"You were saying Marik," I prompted.

"It was I, who broke into your house my Pharaoh," Marik said in a calm tone. I was at a loss for words. Of the three of us, Marik was the one with the least amount of proficiency when it came to those kinds of skills.

"Marik?" Bakura asked stepping away from me finally.

"I was in need of a way of getting you here without Yugi, my Pharaoh. I know you do not like it when he sees us," Marik stated as an explanation.

"So you wrecked my house?!"

"Would you have come otherwise?" Marik questioned with a raised eyebrow. I let out a grunt of frustration.

"When I left this gang, I left for good! Why are you pulling me back in?" I asked both Bakura and Marik.

"No one leaves the gang," Bakura stated rather plainly. I resisted the urge to punch him.

"Obviously I did," I stated.

"You were the leader, therefore you will never be completely separate from our family my Pharaoh," Marik agreed. I was so irritated with both of them, and fed up with all of this nonsense, that it crossed my mind to just end them, but no, I could never do that to them of all people.

When I'd been on the streets, I'd easily fallen in line with the first gang that I'd met: the Millennium Raiders. They'd promised a warm, safe place to sleep, and food for our starving stomachs. How could I have refused? They'd kept us safe, Yugi and I, like they'd promised but in return, I had to learn….certain skills to help them run the business. They could never guarantee to keep Yugi innocent and ignorant of what was going on. So, I'd climbed the chain of command to become the leader of the gang to ensure Yugi's ignorance.

Bakura, Ryo, Marik, and Malik had already been members before I'd joined up, but for those few years (while I was in), we'd been so close, it was like we'd been our own family inside of the one provided by the gang status. I'd even kept the leader position until Yugi had started middle school. But by then he was beginning to suspect what was happening, so I'd gotten out, or so I thought. Now these guys were dragging me back into the world I'd fought so hard to escape.

"My Pharaoh, there are things going on that have been brought to our attention. The gangs have become mobile and are making alliances with each other that ordinarily would result in bloodshed," Marik said as if I cared what went on with the gang wars. I'd left this life behind for a reason.

"Look guys, I know that I was once your leader, but that was a long time ago. That was a dark time, a time I wish not to discuss. Things are just becoming stable for me and Yugi and I can't have you screwing that up. I'm sorry, but I won't let myself be dragged into your gang disputes. I left that life behind," I stated calmly to Bakura and Marik. I looked at both men and how they stood together in front of me.

Marik with his light blonde hair and purple eyes, stood slightly behind and to the side of Bakura whose platinum locks fell into narrowed dark chocolate eyes as he tilted his head to scrutinize me. I had once believed that we were family. Would have once died for these men. Would have sacrificed anything for them. I honestly don't know when we'd begun to stand on opposite sides of the line of morality. When had that line ever been drawn? They'd done everything to protect their younger siblings just as I had, yet I'd left and they hadn't. They'd been through the same things as I, yet I had been the only one who'd seen the wrong in our actions. They had a hikari just as I, yet I was the only one to have had a conscience about what we did.

I knew that leaving had left a wound that would never truly heal. Had been a slight I would never be able to make up for, yet we'd been brothers once. They would accept me back into the gang, no questions asked, if that's what I wanted. They'd probably even give me back the position of leader I had once held. The temptation to become a powerful leader was just as much a lure as it had been the first time; it was a heady, intoxicating, enticement that took all my will power to ignore. But I _would_ ignore it. Not for my sake, but for Yugi's. I would not ever let him down like I had when I'd failed to find someone to love and take care of us when we'd been little.

"Pharaoh, do you pay attention to the news at all?" Bakura's question was so random that it took me a second to respond.

"No I don't. I have enough to worry about with bills and jobs. I don't need the added weight of the worlds' stress on my shoulders as well," I stated with narrowed eyes. What was he getting at?

"I thought as much. Well, if you'd ever pay attention to the news, you would see that our country is in chaos. The stock markets have dropped drastically and people are practically killing for jobs or to make any kind of money to feed their families." Bakura said as he looked at the far wall, seeing something I couldn't.

"That explains why I haven't been able to get jobs as easily," I mumbled more to myself than to either of the guys in the room with me.

"Ever hear of the name General Zorc?" Marik asked me in a quietly subdued tone. The name rang a bell but just barely.

"Vaguely," I admitted shrugging. "Why?"

"General Zorc is the leader of the Gold Army," Marik said like that was supposed to mean something to me.

"So?" Bakura face-palmed before I could ask anything else.

"_So_, Pharaoh, they are the army trying to take over this great country of Domino," Bakura said (sarcasm lacing his voice) slowly as if I were mentally impaired.

"And that has to do with me how?" I wasn't usually this self-centered but living in society for only a few years couldn't erase the years of the survival instinct that I had come to rely on from living so long on the streets.

"Because if Zorc takes this country, he will have defeated all the countries in the Middle East and will then turn on the rest of the world to take it over. He will force every able bodied man to join his army to build it up. Yugi, Ryo, and Malik included," Bakura said in a deathly calm tone.

"Why am I just now hearing about this?"

"You just said you don't watch the news," Bakura pointed out. I rolled my eyes.

"I mean why aren't people talking about it? Wouldn't this be the talk of the country if this Zorc character is trying to take over?"

"You would think so, but most people think we are untouchable because we are such an insignificant country and our army and government hasn't done a thing to allude to our country's state of despair," Bakura said frowning.

"Is our government even doing something about this threat?" I asked sitting down in a chair. The gravity of the situation was becoming an overload to my brain.

"Actually, I don't think so. Marik thinks that our government has been infiltrated by the enemy and so we are completely powerless," Bakura said sitting across from me. Marik sat to my right.

"What does an ordinary gang have to do in all this?" I asked confused as to why this was a concern for a gang that practically ran the slums.

"My Pharaoh, don't you know?" Marik asked me.

"Know what?"

"The Millennium Raiders have been working in correspondence with the countries that have been taken over. We are the now the Resistance. The only thing standing between Zorc and the rest of the world," Marik spoke softly and I suddenly wondered if I'd been wrong about the gang this whole time.

"And we are in need of a leader," Bakura finished for Marik. Both men look meaningfully at me. I glanced between the two of them in confusion for a second, until it hit me what they were asking.

"_What_?" I asked them. "You want me to lead a resistance against this General Zorc, who has already captured more countries that I care to think about? A resistance that probably stands no chance against this Golden Army? A resistance that will most likely be killed before anything happens?"

"Well, yeah, basically," Bakura said nodding his head; Marik nodded in agreement.

"_Why_?"

"Because you were born for it my Pharaoh. It is your destiny to lead us into the new world," Marik said in a voice that bordered in awe. I resisted the urge to scoff at his comment about destiny.

"You sound like this will be a war," I said, unease settling into my bones.

"It will be a great and bloody war; a war against an oppressor that will kill us with no regret if we do not comply with his demands," Bakura said. The fact that throughout this entire conversation Bakura had been relatively serious sent a tingle of fear down my spine. Bakura was never serious unless in dire circumstances.

"Why choose _me_ of all people to lead you? Why not someone without a family to leave behind? Why not someone who's actually a part of this gang? Why not one of you?" I asked. My thoughts, as they so often did, returned to how I needed to protect Yugi.

"Because we know that you will be able to lead us in victory. You have a great strategic mind and instinct, you also have an ability to make speeches that boost morale. There is a reason we nicknamed you Pharaoh, and it wasn't because you were like a cuddly teddy bear and as stupid as a run-of-the-mill gangster," Bakura said trying to pull off a smirk, but it looked more like a grimace.

"You know I won't agree to this. Yugi's life comes first and foremost to me. I will not risk a chance of depriving him of the only family he has left," I said looking at each of them.

"He _does_ have more family," Bakura muttered under his breath. I shrugged; that was debatable.

"Either way, I decline your offer." I said standing.

"We will give you a week to think about it my Pharaoh," Marik said standing as well.

"My answer will be the same," I said looking down at Bakura who was staring at a random spot on the wall as if it held all of life's answers.

"We shall see," Bakura said still not looking at Marik or me.

"Yes, we shall," I stated. I began to walk out of the room but was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. I turned and stared into Bakura's searching brown gaze.

"If you do not believe us, turn on the news or just listen in on other peoples conversations. This is a serious matter with the utmost stress on the shortage of time," he said in a placating tone.

"I will," I said starting to turn again, I would indeed. I needed to confirm what they said to be true, and if it was, I was going to need a lot more information before making any decision. Bakura turned me back to face him once more though.

"Did you ever regret it?" He asked me, his eyes searching for something in my own.

I assumed he was talking about me leaving the gang and by definition, abandoning them as well.

"No." I said softly, looking down at the scarred flesh on my forearm that marked me as the Millennium Raiders leader. The only regret I had was in actually having cared for them in the first place; it had made things so much harder in the end, when I had planned on leaving from the very beginning.

"Why? You abandoned us: Marik, me, Ryo, and Malik. You didn't even give us the chance to say goodbye. _Why_?" Bakura wasn't very good at expressing himself when it came to emotion, but the utter betrayal I saw in his eyes made me want to flinch: I resisted it, of course, but the urge to do so was still there. So we had finally gotten around to the matter I'd been trying to avoid.

"Because Yugi will _always_ come first in my life. I will _always_ put him before anyone else, even myself. I vowed to protect him from anything that could potentially harm him. Myself included," I stated and glanced away.

"…but what does- _Ishizu,_" Bakura said as it dawned on him; I winced at the name I hadn't heard in a very long time. "That's why you left us."

"I left because Yugi can never know what I've done in the name of justice. It would shatter his world," I said in a dead tone.

"Pharaoh, what happened to her wasn't your fault," Bakura said as everything became clear to him. I smiled; a humorless stretch of my lips.

"And I suppose what happened to Rishid wasn't my fault either?" I asked with a cruel, self-deprecating laugh. Bakura visibly flinched. "Don't say anything about what you no naught Thief."

"Just remember that you owe me," Bakura whispered without his usual confidence. I guess the truth of why I'd left had finally hit its mark. "You _owe_ me for saving your ass when all hell broke loose that day."

"Yes, but you also still owe _me_," I said with a smirk that visibly set Bakura on edge. Anyone who saw this smirk was met with my wrath most of the time.

"For what?" Bakura asked, genuinely confused. He allowed the change in subject, for which I was grateful; there was no use in dredging up old memories best left alone. I looked over his shoulder at Marik.

"For still being with Marik. We made a bet did we not?" I asked him.

Bakura turned his head to look at Marik as well. Marik, for his part, began to fidget under the weight of our stares. "So we did, even if it is years later than I'd planned."

"Good, I'm cashing in now," I said looking back into chocolate eyes.

"What do you want?" Bakura sighed. I stepped away from him and stepped toward the door. It was our usual way of dealing with serious situations, trying to lighten the mood with false cheerfulness. The fact that I fell back into the casual banter with such ease, should have bothered me, but for the moment it was nice to just let go of my worries and mess around like old times.

When I turned back to him, Bakura's eyes locked warily with mine.

"I want you to help cater Yugi's birthday party," I said with an evil gleam in my eye. I have always picked on Bakura because he was someone that took gentleness as an insult unless it had to do with Ryo. Bakuras' eyes widened in surprise.

"Is that all?" Bakura asked suspiciously. I was glad to see that my penchant for being able to set him on edge was still intact.

"No, you will have to serve the food in a French maids outfit," I said laughing manically at his expression. Maybe it had been a bad idea to leave them. I couldn't remember the last time I felt this comfortable with a group of people that didn't include Yugi.

"You just want to see me in a skirt," Bakura smirked.

"That may be," I said and looked over at Marik who looked like he wanted to say something but was holding his tongue. "But I wouldn't want to deprive Marik of this once in a lifetime opportunity. After all, I've seen you in a skirt and it wasn't a sight that should be missed, chicken legs and all."

"I told you, it was a kilt. A _KILT_! And I do _not_ have _chicken_ legs!" I left the room as Marik tried to calm his irate boyfriend.

It wasn't until I was already down the road that I felt the smile still in place on my face. Indeed, it had been a long time since I'd let go of my worries. Even in the midst of an upcoming gang war Bakura and Marik had always been able to make the moments beforehand memorable because of how silly they acted. How childlike.

Bakura, Marik, and I had never had childhoods. We'd always been protecting our brothers; ever since we could remember. We'd always had unfair burdens placed upon our shoulders at ages that shouldn't have been able to carry such weights. When kids our ages had been daydreaming, aspiring to be actors, or only worrying about the next game they could play, the three of us (Bakura, Marik, and myself) had been busy taking care of someone other than ourselves, making sure our brothers had cloths on their backs, food in their stomachs, and warm places to stay, when we ourselves had none of that. I guess that's why, no matter how long we spent apart or how far we went, we would always share a level of friendship that most dreamed of having, a bond that couldn't be severed over time or space.

I didn't realize I had even missed the bickering with Bakura and deep talks with Marik until I'd finally talked to them again. It had been a long time since I'd last talked to someone who knew my dark sense of humor and devious mind (other than Yugi of course), and it felt good to finally get to be myself. Maybe my decision to leave had been a rash choice, but there was nothing I could do about it now. I couldn't change the past. All I could do was think about what they had said and make a decision accordingly. I knew what Yugi would want me to do, what choice he would want me to make, and really if I thought about it that way, I didn't have a choice at all, because Yugi was the example by which I led my life. He was my conscience and the nicest part of me. He was my partner, my hikari. He was my light, my aibou. He was my brother, my best friend. He was the last warmth that remained in my heart: a heart shriveled and blackened, made so by years of loss and suffering.

**AN: **Okay guys...how was I on character personality? Any suggestions? Any questions? Any comments? First messager gets my eternal friendship...and maybe some Yami action? :p


	4. Chapter Four: Of Parties and Novels

Chapter Four: Of Parties and Novels

_Emotions: they push us to create masterpieces. Emotions: they push us to take actions we wouldn't ordinarily have taken. Emotions: they control us as if we were the puppets and they the puppeteers. Why do we give our emotions so much power over us? Is it what makes us human? Is it what makes our personalities so different? If so, then are we truly our own person? Or are we how we react to a situation? And if our emotions are the ones controlling us, then who is the one controlling our emotions?_

"You're throwing me a party?!" Yugi screamed, running into my room and throwing himself on top of me. I winced and tried to move over so that his excitedly flailing arms wouldn't smack me in the face.

"_What_?" I groaned. It was way too early in the morning, and I was without my daily cup of morning coffee, to keep up with the fast track of my brother's brain. How he was such a morning person was beyond even _my_ understanding. I tried to roll over to shield my ears from his shouts of excitement, and then groaned again as Yugi sat on my stomach, preventing me from rolling over and ignoring him.

"Yami? Yami wake up!" Yugi shouted in my ear. My eyes snapped open and I sent him the fiercest glare I'd ever given him.

"Yugi, you have about five seconds to calm down, stop shouting, and get off of me, before you do something that you will later regret," I said evenly. My ruby gaze fixed on my brothers violet eyes as Yugi gave me an evil smirk.

Did I say he looked innocent, cute, and childlike? Well if he was, he was deceptively so. Yugi could also be and evil little bugger with a penchant for mischief. He must've learnt it from me.

"Wakey, wakey! Eggs and Bakey!" Yugi sang in an evilly chipper voice.

I resisted the urge to smother him with my pillow. I had to remind myself of the reasons he was the most important person in my life, but it was times such as this when I questioned my sanity in loving him. When Yugi began to jump up and down on my stomach, jostling my entire body and making my head dizzy, I lost my cool.

"That's it! You're done for Yugi!" I exclaimed, somehow bucking him off my stomach and managing to roll on top of him, pinning both of his wrists above his head with my right hand. With my left hand, I held it in front of Yugis' impossibly wide, amethyst eyes, and wiggled my fingers; my most evil smirk played across my lips.

"You _wouldn't_," Yugi said in disbelief.

"Oh yes dear brother, I most _certainly_ would," I said right before I shoved my wiggling fingers into his armpit.

He squealed with laughter as I continued to tickle him. He tried kicking his feet to dislodge me, but as I was straddling his waist and was slightly heavier than my brother, I stayed put. I held on for dear life as Yugi bucked and writhed, trying to get away from the intrusive feeling of being tickled. I laughed evilly as I could see him give up and just let the torture happen.

"Y-Yami! I-I give up!" He shouted at me in-between bursts of forced laughter. "P-please s-stop!"

"Not until you say the magic words," I said in a sing-song voice as I began the second wave of my attack, this time tickling the skin over his ribs.

"_P-please_!" He begged as happy tears filled his eyes. Seeing my brother cry, whether happy or not, always sent a pang of guilt through me, but I resisted the urge to stop. He needed to learn just how grumpy I could get in the mornings.

"Not _that_ word," I taunted, releasing his arms so that I could attack both of his sides at the same time.

"Okay! Okay, I-I'm _sorry_!" He shouted. I grinned.

"For what?" I asked sweetly.

"For s-shouting a-and jumping on y-you!" Yugi howled.

"There now, was that so hard?" I asked getting off him, and turning to grab a t-shirt from my floor to cover my bare chest.

"You…are…_evil_!" Yugi panted trying to catch his breath. "Dark…and...t-the spawn of Satan! _Evil_!"

"Which is why you're my light," I replied walking out of my room, heading to the kitchen.

"_You_ are mean…_but_…I still love you," Yugi said with an air of superiority. I chuckled at the benevolent statement.

"Thank you for your mercy, oh great one," I answered sarcastically, firing up the stove. I could feel Yugi's smile even without having to see it to know it was there.

"So, you're throwing me a party," Yugi prompted. I shook my head fondly. He really was a bright one. "Thought that little distraction would make me forget, didn't you?"

"Well, there's a reason people call you my clone," I said putting bacon into a frying pan that I placed on a worn burner. "I've taught you well my young Padawan."

"Was that a _Star Wars_ reference?"

"Yes it was," I stated smiling at the memory of that movie.

"You watch too many movies Yami," Yugi said shaking his head. For a minute I thought I'd successfully distracted him, and then he said, "Now stop trying to distract me and tell me about this party!"

"You are a very lively person today," I stated turning to the fridge to pull out a carton of orange juice.

"Yami! Stop stalling!" Yugi complained from where he sat on his stool. I smirked and poured him a glass of OJ, then, putting the carton down, I turned to put on a pot of delicious coffee.

"Fine, my overexcited other me," Yugi snorted at my teasing comment. "I will tell you if you will explain to me why you came home with several lacerations the other day."

Yugi almost choked on the OJ he was drinking. "What?"

"Why do you have those bruises?" I put the bacon onto a blue plate for him, and then I put some bread into the barely functioning dinosaur of a toaster.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Yugi said in his most innocent voice that granted, did sound like he was completely ignorant of the topic of conversation, but I knew my brother _and_ his diversionary tactics.

"Do _not_ lie to me Yugi," I stated in a low voice that set most people on edge. Yugi, for his part, continued to sip his OJ as if I wasn't talking to him in a dangerous tone.

"It's nothing."

One of the worst parts of being the kind of brother I have to be for him, was that I had to delegate when to be a brother and when to be a parent. That meant as a brother, I let him get away with most stuff and helped him score girls. As a parent, I had to make sure he was eating right, get him to school, help him with his homework, and, when the time called for it, reprimand him for his behavior or for hiding something for me. I didn't get to sneak him candy in the middle of the night when he was sent to his room without dinner. I couldn't help him skip class or help him cheat on a test. I couldn't cover for him with his teachers or friends. I had to monitor his video game playing and the shows he watched to make sure everything was appropriate. I had to get up early to make him breakfast and yell at him when he was in the wrong. I had to set a good example for him, instead of doing what I would like to do. Granted I wasn't really complaining because raising my brother was an honor, but it made for a tense relationship sometimes.

"_Yugi_…" He knew this tone, the _I'm-not-putting-up-with-your-bull_ tone.

"I'd tell you if it were important." His left hand was scratching at his left bicep, a sure sign he was uncomfortable and lying to me.

"_Would_ you now?" My sarcastic quip had the left side of Yugi's lips turning up in a lopsided, sheepish, grin.

"…maybe…" I rolled my eyes, grabbed the now finished toast, and put them on the plate with the bacon.

Pushing the plate towards him I said, "_Yugi_…"

Yugi looked down at his breakfast and slowly took another sip of his juice. "Okay, _no_-"

"Yugi!"

"-but if it was life or death, then yes…_probably_…maybe?…" He continued as if I hadn't said anything. I shook my head wondering why he wouldn't tell me.

"…Yugi…"

"I can take care of myself Yams," he said using his nickname for me. I frowned.

"Is that what this is about?" Was he really upset that I took care of him?

"It's just that…well; you always see the bad before the good. And sometimes you can overreact about small things-"

"You're right, because I don't have a right to overreact when someone harms my _Ritorukabu_," I say referencing a nickname I had given my brother a long time ago. Yugi's brow furrowed.

"Why do you insist on calling me 'little cub?"

"Because you are as cuddly one," _and as devious_, though I refrained from saying that. "Regardless, I must keep my _Ritorukabu _safe and unharmed."

"Look _Tora, _I have to fight my own battles," Yugi said looking away. I sighed but nodded in reluctant agreement. Then I smiled sheepishly.

"Look who's calling who names."

"Hey, at least 'tiger' is better than 'little cub' _Onii-chan,_" Yugi said to me. I smiled at his use of 'big brother' at the end of his statement. He rarely called me that these days, probably because he was getting older, but I missed it all the same.

"Now, hurry and finish your breakfast so that you aren't late for school," I said turning from the stove and walking down the short hallway to my room.

I slipped on a pair of comfortable yet tight black jeans and a black wife beater. Strapping a couple belts across my hips, I grabbed my chain wallet and jean jacket before stepping out of my room and knocking on Yugi's door. There was a loud thump, short curse, and crash of something before his door was thrown open. I stared at my brother in nothing but his blue uniform pants and a leather collar wrapped around his neck. He held up a white button down shirt and a black wife beater that matched my own.

"Which one should go under my uniform jacket?" He asked breathlessly. I peered around him and into the pigs' sty that had been his room. My left eyebrow rose.

"Since when do you wear punk styled clothes?" I asked pointing at the black collar around his throat. I was ninety-nine percent sure it was mine.

Yugi blushed bright red and glanced down. "I've always like that style." My right eyebrow rose to join its twin.

"Uh-huh, sure. And since when do you even care about your appearance?" I asked in amusement. I had a pretty good idea where this was coming from.

"I-I don't," Yugi stammered, now mortified.

"Riiight," I said smirking. "Does this have something to do with Anzu?"

"N-no," Yugi's voice came out as a squeak so he cleared his throat and tried again. "I, ah, mean _erm_, no."

"Yugi, don't change yourself for some girl. You have a great personality and sense of humor," I said smiling down at my brother. "Any girl would be lucky to catch your eye. Now go change into something you will actually be comfortable in."

"Okay," Yugi sighed and closed his door.

"Hurry up kiddo, we don't have all day!" I said fondly as I walked down the hall to grab my helmet and keys from the counter.

A few minutes later I heard his feet pounding across the carpet, he slid to a stop a couple of inches away from me. Yugi grabbed his buckle adorned biker boots, which were pretty much the only punk looking thing he owned, and tossed them on his feet. I handed him the helmet to put on and grabbed my black sunglasses. I put them on, before closing the door behind Yugi and me, and locked up. As Yugi slid the helmet over his unruly tri-colored locks, I noticed that the collar was still around his neck. I shook my head; Yugi would have to learn on his own if he wasn't going to take my advice on the matter.

We got on the motorcycle and headed to the school.

As I pulled into the school lot, Yugi jumped off my bike and started up the steps of Domino High. I smiled when, at the last second before the doors could shut, he turned to wave at me. My brother was one of the kindest people I had ever met; I just hoped people wouldn't take advantage of him and that kindness.

Before I could leave, I caught sight of the man I'd seen a while back who'd been yelling into his cellphone. This time he wasn't in a limo, no, he was walking down the street, briefcase in one hand, while the other held a small paperback. I marveled at how graceful he was while walking and also being absorbed in whatever story that was unfolding before his crystal eyes. He must have been very aware of his surroundings to be so engrossed in the book and yet knowing when to sidestep passersby. I thought I was the only one who could do that.

He wore a black trench coat over the high school regulated uniform, but nothing else stood out about him besides the strands of cinnamon hair that fluttered in the wind and the deep blue orbs that scanned the pages of his novel. I had to resist the urge to walk over to the man to tuck the strands of cinnamon behind his pale ear.

I blinked. Wait, _what_? Where had _that_ urge come from?

I mean yeah, I'd seated my urges with people here and there, boy, girl, it really hadn't mattered. But I had never wanted to initiate any form of contact that could lead to a deeper level of attachment; I didn't need to take care of another person as well as Yugi and myself. But for some reason this man, with his piercing eyes, was as captivating to me as the most precious piece of art. I had to shake my head to rid my mind of these thoughts; it would get me nowhere, this line of thinking. Besides, I really didn't need any form of relationship right now.

So I started my motorcycle and went to pass the man, but as I passed him, he looked up, and our eyes met. Blood clashed with ice and a spark of emotion shot through my veins, but before I had time to acknowledge it, I was already down the road and the man had already gone back to reading his book.

As I continued with my day, the thought of that man lingered in the back of my brain, and I found myself hoping to see him later when I picked up Yugi.

**AN: **Okay guys, if you are still following the story and are still with me, well I've become stuck with a pickle. At this point I'm burnt out and need some help. If you guys have any ideas or plot twists or plot ideas, I'm all ears. I went into this story without any actual plan and now I've come up short. Really guys, any suggestions would be appreciated. And the first five people to give me some suggestions might just get a cameo...just saying! Virtual hugs and cookies to everyone!


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